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Nagas
|rarity = Common |casting_cost = |upkeep_cost = per turn |research_cost = |num_figures = |moves = / |melee = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = +10% To Hit First Strike Poison Touch 4 }} Nagas are a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. They belong to the , and may be summoned using a Summoning Spell of the same name. Nagas are surprisingly good Melee combat units considering their low cost. Their specialty is a Poisonous First Strike attack which can kill or heavily injure their enemies before they get to Counter Attack. The Fantastic Unit Physical Description Nagas are hybrid creatures with the upper body of a nude, blue-skinned woman, and the scaly lower body of a large green sea serpent. Their faces are twisted and somewhat fish-like, and their heads are covered with green hair resembling wavy seaweeds. Nagas fight using tridents - their underwater hunting weapons. In folklore, they are sometimes known as "Sea Hags", an evil counter-part to the more "pleasant" merfolk of legend. The Nagas unit is a , containing up to 2 of these creatures. Attack Properties Nagas are mediocre Melee combat units, roughly comparable to mid-tier Normal Units in terms of combat effectiveness. The Nagas' Melee Attack has a strength of , with each attack having a chance thanks to an ability bonus. Thus each Naga will inflict about per attack on average. Unfortunately, with only in the unit, this is not a very strong Melee Attack. However, the Nagas also have a potent venomous bite. In Melee combat, each Naga makes a Touch Attack delivering 4 points of Poison Damage against its target, for a maximum of per Naga. The target unit rolls against its own score 4 times in a row per Naga, and each failed roll results in the unit taking 1 extra point of . This can allow the Nagas to effectively do battle with low-resistance enemy units. Furthermore, Nagas possess the useful combat ability of First Strike. This means that they deliver their damage to the enemy unit first, and only then do any surviving enemy get to deal their damage to the Nagas. Enemy figures killed during this First Strike do not deal damage. First Strike ability only applies when the Nagas initiate a Melee Attack on an enemy unit, not when Counter Attacking. Therefore Nagas are best when they retain the initiative, keeping their distance from the enemy the rest of the time. Defensive Properties Unfortunately, Nagas are also quite fragile in combat. With only and per , they are prone to being killed off by any competent opponents - including their own prey. They will stand up against low-level enemies for some time though. Again, if the Nagas manage to kill off one or more with their First Strike attack, those dead figures do not get to Counter Attack against the Nagas. Proper application of First Strike can save the Nagas from being destroyed too early in the fight. Nagas possess an above-average Resistance score of . This may help them avoid ill effects or special types of damage, but only some of the time. Powerful ill effects which reduce their target's Resistance may still be very dangerous to the Nagas. Other Properties Nagas are relatively slow, moving at a pace of , though they may also Swim at the same rate during combat as well as on the overland map. To utilize their First Strike properly the Nagas must move in a way that will allow them to attack their target at the start of the turn, then back away one tile and let the enemy come closer on the next turn. Due to their slow movement, Nagas can usually only pull this off against slow-moving enemies. Basic Tactics As explained above, Nagas are most useful when they manage to First Strike their enemies every turn. This renders them much less vulnerable to enemy attacks, as the First Strike can sometimes kill off several enemy , preventing those figures from inflicting their own damage on the Nagas. To do this properly, maneuver so that the enemy unit must close the distance with the Nagas but cannot attack them on its own turn. When the Nagas' turn starts, attack the enemy and retreat one tile. The enemy then has to move closer again, allowing the Nagas to use First Strike during their turn, and so on and so on. This only works if the enemy unit is as slow as the Nagas themselves. Due to the First Strike, Nagas are often best against enemy rather than large, singular creatures or Heroes. If they can't kill off at least some of the figures in the target unit, that unit will retaliate with full strength, potentially killing one or both Nagas! Enemy Nagas Nagas appear as neutral monsters mostly in low-level encounters, or as support units for much larger creatures. They are very often accompanied by large numbers of Phantom Warriors. When combating Nagas, it is important not to let them use their First Strike. To do so, let the Nagas come to you, wasting their movement on closing the distance without attacking. Then attack the Nagas on your own units' turn, and withdraw a tile to force the Nagas to waste their next turn closing the distance again. Even so, remember that the Nagas' Poison Touch attack can be very dangerous to low-tier units. Engage them with powerful, instead. Units with Poison Immunity are excellent for this. Ability Overview +10% To Hit * This unit has an extra to hit its target with every attack. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more with each attack it makes. First Strike * When this unit makes a during its own turn, it delivers its Melee damage before the target does. * Any enemy killed in the First Strike do not get to deal their own damage to the attacker. * First Strike damage is dealt after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any). * First Strike does not work when the unit is Counter Attacking (i.e. when retaliating to an attack by an enemy unit). Poison Touch 4 * During this unit's Melee Attack, each will also make a Touch Attack against the target, delivering 4 points of Poison Damage per attack. * The target unit must make 4 consecutive Resistance rolls against each Poison Attack. For each roll the target fails, it receives . * The Poison Damage is dealt simultaneously with the exchange of Melee Damage between the two units. * The Poisoning also occurs when this unit Counter Attacks against an enemy assailant. * This effect does nothing against targets possessing the Poison Immunity ability. The Summoning Spell Usage Nagas may only be cast on the overland map, for the base Casting Cost of . Upon casting, the new Nagas unit will appear in the town currently containing the caster's Summoning Circle. The new unit is created with full Movement Points, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary. To keep the Nagas in play, it is necessary to pay an Upkeep Cost of per turn. This is drawn automatically from the caster's Mana pool each turn. Failure to pay the required costs due to lack of in the pool will lead to the Nagas being immediately destroyed, along with any Unit Enchantments currently affecting it. If the unit is destroyed in combat, then it is gone from the world entirely, and there is no further need to pay its Upkeep Costs. You can also dismiss the Nagas voluntarily. To do this, right-click the unit's icon and then press the red "Dismiss" button on the bottom right corner of the unit's details panel. A dismissed unit is gone forever, but of course you can always cast the Nagas spell again to get a fresh new one. The primary reason to dismiss a Fantastic Creature would be to remove its Upkeep Cost (conserving as a result). Acquisition As a Common spell, Nagas may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least one Spellbook. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least Spellbooks. Customized Wizards possessing up to Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn. Wizards with Spellbooks are guaranteed to have this spell available for casting as soon as the game begins. Wizards with or fewer Spellbooks who have not chosen Nagas as a guaranteed spell have a random chance of being able to Research it. The chance for this spell to appear increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research if it is not already available for casting. Nagas has a base Research Cost of . With at least Spellbook, the Nagas spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell. Category:Units Category:Fantastic Creatures Category:Sorcery